“God, family, football” are the words that underline “Him” — director Justin Tipping’s football horror film that tests how far players are willing to go to be the greatest of all time.
When rising college football star Cam Cade, played by Tyriq Withers, has a chance to train with his idol, he navigates his priorities between those three pillars.
In his second feature film, Tipping is ambitious in content and form, packing rapid editing and commentary on religion and football into just over 90 minutes. However, his ambition does not pay off. Instead, it results in a shallow film that does not have much to say.
In its first scene, “Him” signals to the audience that the film aims to comment on the relationship between religion and football. The fictional San Antonio Saviors, the dominating team led by star quarterback Isaiah White, played by Marlon Wayans, are overtly religious in their name — not to mention their logo that undoubtedly resembles a cross. As a young Cade watches the Saviors win the Super Bowl, his family has set up an altar to worship White.
Over a decade later, Cade is ready to hit the big leagues himself. After a brain injury renders him unable to perform in the scouting combine, he gets another chance to show off his skills when White offers Cade the chance to train with him for a week. At White’s dystopian underground training compound, White puts Cade through a series of trials and mind games as he grooms him to become the next football great.
In the few early scenes grounded in reality, “Him” has its promising highlights.
The film captures the American spirit of football with red, white and blue coloring, but leaves behind any commentary on the intersection of religion, football and American culture. As “Him” quickly descends into hallucinogenic madness at White’s training compound, it loses direction and becomes overzealous.
At the film’s midpoint, cinematographer Kira Kelly recreates “The Last Supper,” with Cade taking the role of a soon-to-be-betrayed Jesus. Tipping never trusts the audience to understand the film’s commentary, instead relying on visuals and a screenplay that is often too obvious.
Despite the grand display of religion in “Him,” the film never seems to be able to say anything about what the relationship between football and religion is, only establishing the fact that there is a relationship. The lackluster screenplay does have its moments, particularly when incorporating comedic one-liners that add some emotion to the film.